Category: Illamasqua

Less Bronze, More Galactic

Illamasqua Volt Illumine Oil (£32.00 for 100ml) is the same lovely formula as Pulse, but it gives off a very different look. This look is less sun goddess and more moon goddess–it’s a mix of iridescent blue and violet and white shimmer. I think this would be especially beautiful on those with cooler skin tones, because it will really set them off. Less coconutty scent, more general tropics feel–again, doesn’t seem to linger on me.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂

Product: 28/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you find golden body oils to be too unnatural on you, Volt may be a nice way to give you the same shimmer-sheen look with a more natural look.

Go Golden Bronze!

Illamasqua Pulse Illumine Oil (£32.00 for 100ml) is a quick-drying, fast-absorbing golden bronze shimmer-sheen oil. This is an excellent product to use on legs and shoulders for an extra glow on a night out on the town. A little goes a long way, and I love that it dries down and still gives off that soft sheen but doesn’t feel oily or slick. The shimmer is subtle that it doesn’t look like you’ve bathed in body glitter, and it’s as natural as shimmer is ever going to look. There seems to be a very subtle coconutty scent, but it’s barely there and doesn’t linger for more than a few minutes on me.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂

Product: 28/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you love glowy, slightly sunkissed legs, I think you’d love Pulse. It’s not going to be a self-tanner or bronzer, but it is going to accentuate your natural tan and skin tone.

Bronzed from Head to Toe

Illamasqua Thalia Powdered Metal (£22.00 for 0.52 oz.) is a golden bronze shimmered with gold with a soft, almost metallic sheen. It’s a loose powder that can be used alone or mixed with other products–it’s very much like any other multi-purpose loose color (e.g. Illamasqua’s Pure Pigments, MAC Pigments, etc.).

Thalia is a beautiful bronzer on medium to medium-dark skin, and it also works well as a light illuminator mixed with moisturizer or liquid foundation for those with medium to medium-dark skin. You can also throw it in your hair (try mixing it with shine spray), swirl it in a clear nail polish or creme-finish nail polish to frankenstein something new. It can also look pretty patted lightly on the center of lips over plums and reds finished by a quick slick of gloss.

A little goes a long way, and this is an incredibly finely milled powder, so it’s easy to use more than you need! The packaging has a nice sifter on it, so it’s easier to control how much product comes out. I like that you get plenty of the product without paying an arm and a leg, too. This is also a great body product for the summer, because you can dust it lightly on shoulders and legs (try it right after moisturizing, so it sticks better) for a subtle bronzy sheen.

The Summer Season: Illamasqua Fume Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Intense Lipgloss Fume($20.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a juicy, glossy cherry red. It makes your lips look like perfectly ripened, candy-apple red or luscious, summer-ripened cherries. Either way, the color and finish is pretty sexy. It’s bright, but it really is more wearable than you’d think, because it has that gloss texture. It’s very rich and opaque, and it wears about three to four hours and leaves a residual, persisting stain for a few more.

Is this the right red for you? Would you wear it?

The Summer Season is a series of posts featuring bright, vibrant shades of coral, orange, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for a summer of fun — that runs through July 2010.

The Summer Season: Illamasqua Follow Intense Lipgloss

Illamasqua Follow Intense Lipgloss($20.00 for 0.20 oz.) is a fluorescent red-pink. It’s ridiculously bright–totally retina burning, actually! It is completely opaque and ultra glossy. It’s almost like a really, really amped up watermelon pink… except red. Sorry, I’m so blinded, I’m almost at a loss as to what to say about this! Like other Intense Lipglosses, Follow is richly pigmented and looks opaque when applied to lips. They’re scent- and taste-free, too, and wear well–about four to six hours in total, but the glossiness does fade around hour two.

Is this the right red for you? Would you wear it?

The Summer Season is a series of posts featuring bright, vibrant shades of coral, orange, and pink lipsticks and lipglosses — all perfect for a summer of fun — that runs through July 2010.

Illamasqua Pure Pigment in Furore

Illamasqua Furore Pure Pigment ($24.00 for 0.04 oz.) is a gorgeous shade of gilded, muted copper-bronze. It’s really a beautiful color that can be used as a loose highlighter dusted on cheeks or decolletage or used wet as an easy all-over lid color or as an eyeshadow base for neutral and bronzy looks.

I thought I had reviewed a Pure Pigment before, but apparently I never got around to it, other than this brief rant in a look I used it in originally. The first Pure Pigment I tried was Static, which was a gorgeous color, but the texture wasn’t very smooth (even when used wet) and the packaging drove me batty.

Furore has a much, much nicer texture. It’s almost like night and day! It’s smooth, soft, and really melts together when used wet. The packaging is still the same — very bulky and it’s easy for the pigment to poof out, but I definitely noticed less “poof” than I had previously. I didn’t end up with more on my counter than my eye with Furore.

The worst part about Pure Pigments is the size. It’s a mere 0.04 oz. That’s tiny. That’s almost ridiculous when compared with MAC Pigments (even with the size reduction, they’re still 0.15 oz–almost 4 times the size). Make Up For Ever’s pigments also vary between 0.07 and 0.09 oz. No, you don’t need a lot, so it’s hard to imagine really going through even the 0.04 oz. particularly quickly, but I really can’t believe how little you get.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ! 🙂

Product: 27/30

Value: 6/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 3/5

RECOMMENDATION: If you don’t mind the small quantity you get, then Furore is a fantastic neutral shade. It’s not too bronzy or frosty–it’s kind of like a cross between a metallic and frost, but it’s not too much. I can see it working as a very versatile shade.